Academy One-Shots
by starryeyedwings
Summary: Scenes from the Ghost Bird series from the boys' point of view.
1. Polaris

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to the wonderful C.L. Stone and her Academy Ghost Bird series. I am borrowing them for my writing amusement. ^_^**

 **Note: This is North and Sang's first date on the roof, from North's point of view. It starts a little before that part. Enjoy :D**

I see her standing a little off to Kota's side as soon as we walk in through the door. She's intermittently shifting from one foot to the other, then finally stops and clasps her fingers behind her back.

It's driving me insane. I want to rush forward and shake away the nervousness from her, working downward from those stiff, skinny shoulders of hers. And that's another thing. She's too small, too thin even for her height. I wonder if her parents aren't feeding her at home, or if she's not eating herself. I haven't seen her eat more than nibbles since we met. That has to change.

We all congregate around Kota's living room to discuss our schedules for the upcoming school year. It'll be different with Sang this year. Better. I'm lucky I won't have to kill anyone out of sheer boredom at school because she'll be around. On second thought, Luke's lucky I won't have as much time to get him back for his antics.

But I'm really not looking forward to high school. Not like my brothers and I haven't all already learned the stuff already in whatever classes we have. Then there's the stupid lot of hormonal teenagers. They don't give two shits about academics. And if they're anything like that asshole Greg that Si wanted to knock out, it's gonna be a whole lot worse for Sang.

Speaking of which.

I see her take a seat smack in the middle of the couch, and immediately plop down to her left. She's glancing back and forth between me and Gabriel, then pauses and flicks her gaze upward when she sees the arm I've placed behind her shoulder. Really, I'm resisting the urge to just throw an arm around her. But that'll have to wait till later. She's still too goddamn jumpy. When I return the look, questioning, Sang quickly turns away, pale cheeks an instant bloom of pink.

Luke starts up about getting bean bag chairs for Kota again. I only half-pay attention, and focus mostly on moving my finger in circles on Sang's shoulder. I watch the side of her face all the while, holding back a grin when I see her blush deepen even more.

Kota then asks who's driving who to school, and I say I'll be taking Luke and Si in my Jeep.

"Good. Logically, I'll take Nathan and Sang," says Kota.

"You mean on the bus?" Sang asks, looking around at us. We all turn to face her, and I feel her stiffen underneath my fingers. "I mean, I don't think I could get away with riding to school with anyone. If I'm not getting on the bus, my sister will know and she'd tell my parents," she adds, quieter this time.

"Aw, shit. I didn't think about that. Don't tell me we're riding this year."

Sang sits up, finally moving away from my fingers. She shakes her head fiercely. "You don't have to. I mean, I can ride the bus. You guys can ride together. It's no big deal. I'll just see you when I get there."

God, she's so fucking gorgeous.

The guys and I exchange glances over her head, each telling the other that no way in hell we could ever let Sang ride the school bus on her own. Especially to the godforsaken shit hole we're gonna be attending.

"It's not a big deal," Nate says, "we'll do it."

I resume circling my fingers on her shoulder.

"But—"

"No, it's fine." Kota cuts Sang off before she can say anything more. "My car isn't totally reliable anyway. We'll ride."

 _And that's how it's done, baby_. I look down at Sang and see her fidget. She still looks uncomfortable. And she's so fucking small. Makes me want to her wrap myself around her and never let go. Maybe hide her away someplace.

"But that brings us to another issue. We need to work on getting your parents used to us. It'll be difficult, but the sooner we find a way, it'll make it easier on all of us."

Easier on _us_? Fucking shit no. I don't think Kota realizes what he's saying. This girl hasn't been easy on us since the moment we met. Kota knew something was off with her right away. She's too quiet, only hangs out with our lot. She hasn't even bothered to even try and make other friends. And those eyes. I was screwed from the moment I looked into them. Sang doesn't realize that if she were to look at someone in exactly the right way he'd be totally done for. Thank God she's so innocent. But even that's been killing me. It's part of what makes her so damn irresistible.

No. Kota's wrong. There's no way in hell she'll ever be _easy_ on us.

The word instantly brings to mind another kind of definition, and I shake my head slightly before I get into trouble. Instead, I turn back to the object of my thoughts and see she's just sitting quietly now, her lips pursed.

 _Fuck._

Gabe reaches out a hand to rub at her head. "Don't worry, we've got a plan," he says. Sang stiffens again before they both turn to Kota. "We've got a plan, right?"

"I still think we ought to call on Danielle. If we can get them to be friends, she could invite Danielle over. Her mother might get used to another girl being over there easier and we could slowly start showing up."

Oh, God, no, not her. My brothers all groan in agreement around me.

"Is she that bad?" asks Sang.

"Yup," I say. She turns to me, and I stop circling my two fingers on her shoulder and simply rest them there. She doesn't respond, but she hasn't moved away yet.

We all start discussing Danielle, our schedules and school in general. Sang and I are in the same Homeroom, AP Geometry and AP World History together. Some of the others only have one class with her, and I'm kind of feeling smug that I get to share three. I wonder if I can reach the classrooms before the guys and get a spot closest to her. But I also don't want Sang to be walking around those monstrous halls on her own. Maybe my brothers can walk her, and I'll save her spot. I want to walk with her too, though. Gotta decide something before the year starts.

By the time we have ourselves sorted I'm lying on my side and Sang's on the floor, leaning slightly against the couch. I fixate at the back of her pale, delicate neck.

 _Not now, Taylor._ I clench my hand.

Victor and Sang begin chatting quietly, then suddenly she sits up, eyes wide. "I'm jealous," she says. "Can you say something in Japanese?

Oh. It's only Vic showing off his skills. _C'mere and I'll teach you some German,_ I think. She seems so eager, like a baby chick.

And then I snort. A chick. Really.

Victor smiles and says something, and Sang tries to copy but fails. Her nose wrinkles. Fucking shit she even makes that look adorable.

"What does it mean?"

Victor blushes. Actually fucking blushes. "I'll tell you later," he says. Really wish I knew Japanese right about now. Maybe I'll learn it. Never hurts to know another language.

But Sang looks nervous again. Her fingers over the hem of her blouse, teeth pulling in her bottom lip into her mouth. I'd like to take it back out with mine.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

Focus on something else.

Anything.

I turn to Kota. "Are you going to be okay, Kota?" I ask. I am genuinely concerned about him, after all. "There's periods where we won't see you for several hours." Who the hell knows what could happen at that place.

Kota just shrugs. "Most of these classes are close together on the second floor. I won't be in the hallways for very long."

I notice Sang moving again out of my corner of my eye and see her crawl over to where Si sits quietly, eyes roving over his schedule. He glances up, first at me, then back at her when he sees that she's close, and pats the spot on the carpet next to him.

I strain my head a little to hear them.

"We've only got one class together," says Sang softly.

Si shifts over and places a palm on the floor, just near her butt, arm barely grazing her back. "At least I get you to myself," he says. I stamp down an instinctive yet unexpected wave of jealousy. Lucky bastard, getting her alone for an entire period.

Sang's nervous again. "In a class full of people," she whispers.

"It won't matter if they're there. I don't really talk much."

"Why?"

Why? _What the hell kind of question is that?_ My eyes are probably burning holes into her head, but Sang doesn't notice. She's totally focused on Si right, her green eyes revealing everything she's feeling, genuine curiosity and a desire to know the answer. How the fuck can someone be so beautiful without even knowing?

"Not a lot to say," Si replies.

"You talk to me."

Then he reaches over—hey!—to tuck a silky blond lock behind her ear.

I really want to smack him right 'bout now. Bastard's clearly flirting with her, and she's completely oblivious. "You talk to me, too." He smiles.

Sang's eye widen even more, if that's even possible, and she looks about to say something before we hear a loud knock at the door. My eyes open wide and I sit up immediately, shoving the cushion away and turning my head. Kota gets up first, and comes back. He actually looks scared.

"Kota? What? Who was it?" Luke says. Even he's serious now.

"It's your sister. Your older sister. She's asking for you."

Sang jumps up so fast I barely see it. The others look between her and Kota. I'm just staring at her, at the hand at the base of throat. She looks terrified. Terrified. God I want to punch something.

Silas catches her hand from where he's sitting. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Don't worry. It'll be fine."

Her voice wavers. Yeah, fine my fucking ass. Anyone can hear it. We all know it, too. It won't be fine. Nothing about Sang's family is fine.

"It might require negotiations," she continues, "I have to go calm the waters. I might not be back today."

"Be careful," Silas says. He squeezes her hand once more before letting go. A thousand different scenarios flash through my mind. None of them are even remotely okay. I want her with us and away from that family. I fist at the couch, trying not to let my anger out. She might misunderstand. She won't get that it's not at her, but at her situation.

When Kota returns from walking her out to the door my brothers all start up at once, each clamoring loudly over the other to be heard.

"What's going to happen?" asks Vic.

"Her family's fucking insane." Gabe.

"I think it's just the mom. She's the one who forced lemon and vinegar down her throat," says Nathan.

"Doesn't matter, though, does it? No one else cares," Luke points out.

I turn to Silas, who's now seated beside me on the couch. "What do you think?"

He shrugs. "I don't know what to think. But I don't like her family," he says quietly.

I nod.

"Are you guys gossiping about me again? I swear to fucking Christ why can't you both speak in goddamn English?! Not like we aren't all talking about Sang right now"

"Gabe," I snort, "we _are_ speaking English, you moron."

He just flips me off.

"So what do we do?" I ask, turning to face Kota. He shoves his glasses up his nose, even if he doesn't need to. Even he's nervous about this, but he's trying not to show it.

"For now, nothing. Don't text or call yet, she said it'll be a while dealing with her mom."

"So like what, we just hang around waiting or something?" Nathan says. Kota nods.

"Yes." His voice is firm, mimicking Mr. Blackbourne's. It's an order.

Vic and I share a frown but don't say anything.

Nate sighs and sprawls out on the carpet again, while Gabe and Luke wrestle over video games. Si browses on his phone. Kota brings his laptop down from his room and sits cross-legged on the floor, probably looking up some physics shit or whatever.

I tap on my phone randomly.

"Waiting sucks," Nate grumbles, staring up at the ceiling.

What seems like days later, but really only hours, I can no longer stand it.

"Kota," I grunt, towering over him. He's still squinting at something on his laptop.

"What?" he snaps.

Even Kota seems to be losing his patience.

"We've gotta text her or something. We're all fucking going crazy."

"Yes, fine, go ahead." Kota rolls his eyes. "Not like you'd listen even if I said no," he mutters just as I turn away, though I manage to catch it.

The guys all abandon what they're doing and leap for their phones, and the next minute or so's just filled with the sounds of unlocking phones, sliding and thumbing the screens. I don't know what everyone else's typing, but I just tell Sang to call me.

"Hey!" Nate suddenly cries out. "She just texted back."

"What? Lemme see!" Luke tries to grab for the phone but Nate pulls out of his reach.

"You can text her back yourself dummy!"

I look down at my own phone to see if she's replied back.

Nothing.

North: _Goddamn it, call me._ I hit send.

Kota's phone beeps a while later as the others are still typing. He answers before the first ring's even up. "Sang?"

I can't hear what she says, so I shout at Kota. Seems everyone else wants to know what the hell happened, too, and soon we're all barking questions at him.

"Hold up, guys." Kota puts it on speaker and we all huddle together on the floor. "Okay, I put you on speaker. Tell us what's going on."

There's echoing on the other end, like she's sucking in a breath. "I'm fine. It's over with. She told me I had to stay in the house."

My brothers and I exchange wary looks. Sang's voice sounds too damn quiet, even for her. Something definitely happened. She's just not saying anything.

"Sang," Nate yells. I shove him over to stop my eardrums from bursting. He glares but continues. "Do you want us to try to come over and talk to her?" he asks.

"No!" she cries out, suddenly too loudly. "Just let her cool off." Her voice sounds stronger now, a bit forceful even, but at a more normal volume. "School starts tomorrow. We'll be busy anyway. I'll be able to get back but not today. I just have to be more careful with how."

"We won't be able to hide this forever," says Kota.

"We'll figure it out. One thing at a time. Don't worry, I'll keep my head down," Sang adds from the other end.

None of the others have anything else to say anymore, it seems. But I'm seething inside. There was something so wrong with her voice in the beginning. She said she was fine, but somehow I knew—I just knew—there was more. No way her mom would let her off that easy for being at a guy's house when she'd burned her throat for simply talking to a guy.

No fucking way. She's hiding something.

I just need to find out what.

That night after everyone's gone off home and to bed, I take my bike and speed back through Sunnyvale, parking in her driveway.

It's late. After eleven.

The rest of her house is dark, but I see a light coming from her window. Thank God, she isn't asleep yet. Although I probably would've woken her if she was. This can't wait. Damn it, I can't wait till morning.

I eye the slanted roof near her room then jump, holding onto the gutter before pulling myself up and crawling across to her window. I tap on her glass, and hold my breath.

Will she open it?

Daring to peer inside, I see her in a tank and shorts. She's looking back at me with a weird look on her face. Not surprised, exactly, but more like she was expecting someone else. That makes me wonder whether any of the other guys came up here like this before, but I stay quiet, still, as she waves and opens the window.

The smell of something sweet and delicate wafts to my nostrils, and I take a deep, cautious breath, trying not to scare her any more than I probably am.

"What're you doing?" she asks, as she pushes up the window.

I hold out a hand. "Come see."

Even in the dark, I can see her green eyes go wide. They nearly glow. Her lips part open in surprise. "North..."

"We won't go far," I interrupt before she can say anything more. Sang hesitates, and then places her hand in mine. My large fingers easily cover her much smaller ones and pull her towards me, making certain to keep us both balanced as we step out onto the roof. I start up the incline.

"Where?" comes Sang's husky whisper from behind me.

"Up."

Once at the top, I point to a flat section of the roof covering the back porch. I release her hand to slide down then quickly offer it again as I settle myself down. "Right here," I say. My voice's never been this quiet, but I suddenly feel the need to be extremely gentle with her. I feel like any moment she'll run if I so much as bark, and I think I need this more than she does. I need to know she's safe, at least for tonight.

She slides down and I hold her by the legs, sliding my fingers down its smoothness before catching myself. Focus. I need to fucking focus. As soon as she sits I settle closer to her side, feel her arm against mine.

"Sit back." My voice sounds foreign to my ears.

We look out at the yard, the woods, the sky. I'm gazing up at the stars, trying to find my namesake but my mind's on the girl sitting beside me.

It's a long while before I feel Sang relax, and I take my chance.

"What happened today, Sang?"

"What do you mean?"

I can't tell if she's bullshitting right now or what. Her voice is quiet, but then it's always quiet. So I position my body to my right side, head propped up with a hand. "I want to know what happened the moment you got back to this house after you left today. You weren't fully honest with us."

Was that a gasp? "I was—"

No, she's going to lie to me again. Not again. I grasp her arm. "You were protecting us," I say, gently but stern at the same time. "I know what softening the truth sounds like. The others might be willing to buy it, but I want to know."

Sang twists her lips. "It's not really that bad."

 _Goddamn this fucking girl and her endless evasion._ No wonder Kota and the rest of my brothers are so worked up about her. Anyone would be. I suddenly feel sorry for Victor. He was probably trying to figure her out earlier, too, with the Japanese trick. Clearly didn't work, but hell, worth a try.

Anything for her.

"Tell me what happened," I insist. "I'll make the decision. Tell me exactly what your mother said."

A single finger traces at her cheek, then she presses the entire side of her face against her hand. I wait.

And wait.

I don't take my eyes off her for a single moment.

Eventually she starts to talk. She tells me how her mother called her into her bedroom, yelled at her, and how Sang responded. Defiantly. Stupidly. Bravely. The brave idiot. And then Sang describes kneeling in rice—fucking shit what?! Kneeling on a wooden floor is bad enough. Kneeling on rice? What the fuck is this woman on? How can a mother do that to her own fucking daughter?

Lost in my storming thoughts, I don't notice a while when she finishes, until it's quiet for a time. I swallow heavily. Try to recollect myself. Calm my burning anger.

Sang's too fucking good for this family.

"Let me see," I say, when I finally manage to figure out a gentle enough tone. Frightening her in this instant is the last thing I want. The words barely come out, but Sang hears me.

"See what?" she asks.

I stuff my hands into my pockets and find the miniature flashlight attached to my keychain. I pull one of her legs closer, tracing my thumb lightly over her knee. The skin there is rough, slightly puckered. I feel her jolt slightly.

Fucking hell.

"Baby," I call her, because in that moment it seems necessary. "How long were you there for?"

Sang shifts. "I don't remember. I wasn't watching the clock."

"Did it start right after you left Kota's?"

"About, yes."

 _Fucking. Hell._

I glance up at her then, staring right into her eyes, wanting her to see my fear and anger, but most of all my sympathy and pain for her pain. I know pain. All my brothers know the pain of abuse. It's why we all fit. We're such a fucked up bunch of guys who were abused or hurt in some way. It's the same thing we see in her eyes now. That same thing we want to make disappear, forever.

I switch off the flashlight, then pull her hands away from her mouth. "And you called us right after?" I ask.

"Yes."

"That had to be over three hours." I do the math again in my head. "At least," I add, then sigh. "Trouble, trouble, trouble..."

"I'm sorry," Sang whispers.

 _Sorry?_ "Stop apologizing for shit that isn't your fault," I all but growl at her.

"I'm the one that left the house."

As if leaving the house is a felony. I turn onto my side again and face her fully. She needs to understand this isn't her fault, that her mother has issues and we understand, a lot more than she thinks we do, but we do. "But you shouldn't be on your knees or swallowing vinegar or any of that shit. It's not healthy for you."

"What can I do? She's my mother."

Kota was right. Too damn loyal for her own good. We saw that when she came back to us, the night after the orientation when we thought we lost her for good after Nate's fuck-up. "I know she is. I'm surprised she lets you go to school. From what you've told me, it sounds like she'd try to home school both of you."

"My dad won't let her. She used to say she would, but he insisted that we go to school like everyone else. He said if she did home school, the state would be way too interested in us. Besides, she was sick so much, he thought she couldn't keep up. If she failed to report to the state, they'd come around and investigate. She didn't like that."

Her situation's sounding more and more shitty and complicated by the second. It also makes me wonder why her dad seems so hell-bent on keeping her and Marie out of the state's eye. I might ask Vic to look into later, maybe. Is he an accomplice in her abuse, then? Does the mom hurt Sang and the dad lets it happen?

I sigh and lean back. My eyes are getting heavy, but I'm not yet done talking. I feel like we could stay forever on this roof. I wish we could.

Then Sang speaks up. "North? Are you and Luke going to start the diner with your uncle sometime soon?"

I don't know if this is Sang's way of changing subject because she's avoiding or wanting to talk about something else, but I play along, just to humor her. "We already purchased the property," I reply, "so we better."

"Is that what you want to do when you graduate? Work with your uncle?"

"No."

"What would you rather do?"

"Travel."

"On your bike?"

I hold back a smile. "Or a better one. Or in a plane. Depends on where I'm going."

"Where would you go?"

And suddenly now she's playing twenty questions. It's like I've let something a part of her loose and it doesn't want to be pushed back in. I like this curious side of her. It's fucking adorable. But now it's my turn. So I face her and ask her the same question she just asked me. "Where would you go?"

She thinks for a second before answering, "To the beach. A nice one with bright blue water and white sand."

That's where she wants to go? The beach?

 _Well, baby, that can happen._

"We're not far from the beach," I tell her. "We'll go one day."

Fucking fantastic. And now that's probably all I'll be able to think about now. Sang at the beach. The two of us in the water, Sang under an umbrella in the sun, Sang in a bikini, with her sweet smile, and those gorgeous eyes...

I shake my head. _Stop right there, Taylor._

"With the guys?" says Sang.

And the dream shatters.

No. Not with the guys. I wasn't thinking of bringing them.

"We'll see," I say instead.

We remain in silence for the rest of the time, just watching the sky. Really, Sang's the one gazing up at the stars, while I steal glances her way every now and again. I can't stop. It's like the more I look the more I want to keep looking. She's fucking addicting. I don't want to stop, and I don't want to make it stop, either.

I want to stay forever on this roof, but we both have school early in the morning, and we need to get at least some sleep. So I help Sang back across the roof and wait until she's safely inside her room again before I crouch down.

She stares at me. "Goodnight, North," she whispers, and somehow I know there's more meaning in the unspoken words between us.

I lean down, bringing my face close to hers until I can feel the heat of her breath and my body reacts. I sweep my fingers across her cheek. "Goodnight, Sang." Before I give in to the urge to go the remaining few inches and put my lips against hers I pull away.

Her eyes, curious and bright, stay with me the remainder of the night, long after I return home.

 **A/N: Hey guys, this is a continuation of my "Meeting Sang" series that I began a while back. After I finished that one I was really encouraged by all the feedback I received. And I'm also having so much fun writing the boys so I decided to continue with different scenes I like throughout the GB series, from the boys' perspective. This was my first, and I really hope you enjoyed. Feedback is, of course, ALWAYS appreciated. Even the negative ones, I don't mind.**


	2. A Violin and a Necklace

**Victor**

I'm running late. Sang's most likely making her way through the halls by now. The bell rang a while back, but the number of students in this place make it impossible to maneuver through. I don't want her to walk alone. I wonder if she'll know to wait for me. To understand that we stick together. But she's nowhere in sight, so I follow the hallway down until I hear a couple of loud catcalls.

My head whirls in their direction, instinctively searching for signs of trouble. There are a couple guys lounging against the sides of the hall, making noises and leering, faces tilted towards the cluster of girls in front. I see Sang among them, and our eyes meet as she also turns around.

"Sang!" I cry out, and hurry forward. I hate the way those guys are looking at her, at the other girls. It's disgusting. She sees me approach and her eyes light up in a way that makes that something flutter inside me. It happens whenever I see her now, ever since the first time I jumped on her in Kota's bed.

"You should've waited by the door," I tell her as we begin walking. "I was coming for you."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Blackbourne . . ."

Ah, I see now. "Oh, yeah. No need to say more. But next time wait for me. I'll come get you."

"Sticking together?" she asks.

 _Da-dum._ It takes everything I have not to grin like an idiot. She's getting it. So instead I go for a shrug. Casual. "It's what we do."

That makes her smile. "How was your day?"

"It's not the Academy."

Sang blinks at me. "Isn't it supposed to be a secret?" she asks.

"No one's listening," I reply casually. But I don't admit it surprised me how easily that came out, when before I would've been so cautious. I'm getting too used to Sang.

 _Slow down, Vic._

I turn back to Sang, only to see her nose crinkling up in a frown. She's adorable without even trying. Every emotion is written so clearly on her face, yet those eyes sometimes make it impossible to decipher precisely the direction of her thoughts.

This is really going to drive me crazy.

Instead I resort to what the rest of my brothers and I are all skilled at doing. I change the subject quickly.

"So how was Mr. Blackbourne?"

"I need to get a violin by tomorrow, or I can't go back."

Sounds like him all right. I resist rolling my eyes. Barely. "Yeah, he's strict.. Can you get one?"

Sang frowns again, and this time, the place between her brows pucker slightly. Don't look at her lips, Vic. Do not look at her lips! "It's kind of short notice but I'll have to ask my parents. My mom isn't too happy with me right now."

That momentarily distracts me. "I can get you one," I say.

Sang shakes her head. "Victor, you can't . . ."

 _Again with that! Argh._ This girl is frustrating me to no end. _When will she ever understand?_ Yes, I can, dammit! My family's filthy rich, and I can spend money however I want, and I choose to spend it on my family.

The fact that I now consider Sang as part of my family is something I don't want to address right now, but there it is, right in my awareness, and I suddenly realize how quickly this girl can turn me into a blubbering, idiotic mush.

From the moment we met, that's all Sang's been doing.

I want to shake her shoulders and shout at her to tell me what she wants, to ask why she doesn't like me spending money on her, why she refuses every single damn time, when that's the exact thing all the other girls before her ever asked of me. It was all they ever wanted of me. They were such callous creatures. And here's Sang, another girl, yet unlike the rest of them, not wanting what they all wanted.

But I don't say any of that. I can't. Firstly, I can't shout at her in a school hallway. Secondly, I don't think I could shout at her period.

So I change the subject yet again.

"Is this the right way?" I ask, gesturing in the general direction of where we're supposed to be heading. She and I both know it is, and I have a feeling she's smart enough to figure out what I'm doing. But she says nothing more as we make our way to the trailers for AP World History.

North's there already in the back. Sang sits in front of him, and I take the seat in front of her.

"I'm in the middle again," she cries. "If I didn't know any better, I'd assume you guys planned this."

"Baby, we plan everything," says North.

 _Except for her,_ I think. We clearly couldn't plan for her. I sit back in my own chair with a huff, waiting for the teacher to show up, when I hear Sang whisper something near my ear. Then I feel something soft trail at the skin of my neck, and jump. _What the—!_

"What is it?" I say.

"Sorry. Your necklace. The clasp didn't look like it was holding on very well."

 _Damn it._ I can feel my cheeks burning. "I thought it was a bug or something."

Sang laughs. "I wouldn't have touched a bug."

"Well, thanks."

"Turn around and I'll fix it."

I pause to glance around the room, wondering if anyone will notice. When I see that everyone's busy, I swivel around, waiting. Even though I'm expecting it this time, Sang's light touch still sends shivers down my spine, that I try to keep it bay by fisting my hands against my legs.

Then her fingers move away. "You're going to lose it," she says. "Be more careful."

I smooth over the surface of the medallion, my mother's words ringing in my ears.

 _Protect your heart._

I think it's a little too late.


	3. Flirting

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. ~sigh~**

 **A/N: A little flirting happening at school, in Silas and Victor's POVs. Please R &R! Enjoy :D **

**Silas**

I lead the way to the offices downstairs where there's a little set up near the corridor by the nurse's office to get ID pictures taken. The teacher sitting at the wooden desk wth a printing station and asks for Sang's information. I go stand by the camera and wait while Sang stands in front of the blue sheet of paper.

Her green eyes are wide, lips slightly parted. She's gorgeous. But I wish she'd smile. She'll be stunning if she does.

So I get in her line of sight. "Smile!"

Strawberries appear on her cheeks. "It's just a school photo," she says.

I _have_ to make her smile, without making it obvious. She's so nervous already. I give a shrug, hoping this'll come out casually. I've always been kind of a jokester, but I need this to come out right the first time. "Do it anyway," I say, and then with more confidence, "say cheese or fiddlesticks or San Francisco or whatever."

 _It worked!_

Sang's whole face lights up, and probably the rest of her, too. I grin. The flash goes off.

About five minutes later she has her ID card in her hand and is frowning at it. "I look terrible."

I bet you don't, Aggele, I think. Aggele. That's it. That's what I'll call her. It comes so naturally.

"Let me see." I reach for the card and tilt it closer. "It's not bad. You're cute."

Her hands rub over her cheeks. I don't know what she's trying to do, exactly, but it only turns them redder. "I only have to use it if they ask for it, right? And for the library?"

"I think they use it as your yearbook picture, too."

Sang's eyes widen so much I almost fear they're gonna pop out of her skull. It's so hilarious I can't help but start laughing. I don't mean to laugh at her, but I can't help it. She just looks so damn cute. "That's not funny!" she cries, trying to take her card back. I hold it above her head, grinning still.

Out of the corner of my eye I notice a stout-looking man in a suit standing at the end of the hallway, watching us. He isn't saying or doing anything, so I decide to ignore it.

"I might keep this. I don't have a picture of you."

Sang goes on her toes, but I'm too tall for her to reach. Instead she ends up stumbling forward onto me. She immediately lets go after regaining balance, and I feign hurt, clutching at my chest and making a face.

She's fully relaxed now, laughing loud.

And then stops.

And gasps.

My eyes immediately fly open, and I see the same man from before who I think is the vice principal. I saw him before but didn't pay attention enough to realize he was leaning in towards Sang until too late. Sang, on the other hand, has turned away to face him, and the whole of her body is suddenly ramrod straight, spine stiff.

"You have a nasty habit of running into people, Miss Sorenson. You should watch where you're going," he says.

She slowly starts to back up, one small step at a time. I look down and see her finger at her lip and stand at her back, offering support.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. McCoy," she whispers.

The start of growl forms deep within my chest. I barely manage to hold it back. I don't like the way he's looking at her, eyes roving up and down her body like she's some kind of fucking shiny new toy or plaything. It's disgusting. The fucking _malakas_.

"Goofing off in the hallways is not permitted," says McCoy.

"We were getting our IDs." I step in, wanting to protect Sang from him. "And now we're heading to our class." _So you can fuck off,_ I add in my head.

The bell rings just then and the hallways begin filling up with students.

McCoy clears his throat. "Follow me, Miss Sorenson. I believe there's a detention slip with your name on it in my office."

 _No way I'm gonna let her go off with you._ I clench my fists.

"I don't believe an accident is a cause for a detention, sir," I add, and hating myself for it. But neither of us can afford to get in actual trouble. Mr. B could probably get me out of it, but I'm not too sure about Sang. And I'm not willing to risk it.

Sang places a hand on my arm, but I ignore it. For the moment.

McCoy then finally turns his attention to me, squinting. _Good,_ I think. _Focus on me. And leave her the fuck alone!_

"You're one of Mr. Blackbourne's kids, aren't you?"

This time I allow myself a glare. "I'm from the Academy."

"Not now you aren't. Don't think for one minute I won't give you detention, too. Or worse." He jerks his head back toward Sang. "I'm going to let you go this time. The next time I see you, you better keep your head down. I'll be watching."

"Silas..." Sang breathes out after he's gone.

I shake my head and grab for her hand. "Come on. We're going to be late."

We manage to slip into the classroom just as the bell rings and find two seats near the back.

"That was the vice principal, right?" I ask, leaning forward in my chair.

Sang turns around and nods. "Yeah. I can't believe I ran into him twice."

"I don't think this was your fault. He was watching us from down the hall and when we got close, he leaned into you. He was waiting for this."

Her lips part in surprise. "He was looking to give me detention?"

 _No,_ Aggele mou. _I think he was looking to get you alone_. The thought disturbs me more than I want to admit, so I shake my head, saying nothing.

I'm only half paying attention as the teacher goes over the agenda for the year when Sang suddenly shifts and her feet touch mine under her desk.

She freezes.

I jump, knocking my right knee hard against the wood and hiss through my teeth to stop myself cursing.

"Sorry." Sang's head turns slightly, hair falling forward, expression apologetic. "I didn't mean to scare you. I thought I hit my book bag."

"Don't worry about it," I reply, putting my head down on the desk to resist pulling the locks behind her ears. It wouldn't be appropriate in a classroom.

"If you need to stretch your legs, go ahead and put them under my desk."

She noticed. I look up, smiling cheekily. "I don't want to be in your way."

"Don't sweat it. Stretch your legs out."

God, she's so _nice._

I stretch my legs out comfortably until my feet stick out under her desk. Sang places one foot on either side of mine.

"There," she says, sounding pleased with herself, "no big deal. I'll just know it's you down there. If I kick you, I'm sorry."

Ha ha. "Ditto," I quip.

For the rest of the class period her ankle occasionally rocks against my own. At one point I think she seemed to forget she was leaning her heel against mine, but I never say a word of it, just stay grinning away like an idiot.

When class finishes I walk with her to the end of the hallway. "My next class is near yours. Victor's on his way, right?"

She nods. "He should be."

The main stairwell is the biggest issue. I put Sang in front, keeping a hand on her tiny form the whole way up. Her head bumps into my chest once. I cherish the touch.

As we're approaching close to her next class Doc comes out. "Oh! Hello, Miss Sorenson. And Silas, you're not in my class, are you?"

"Not this time, doc."

"It's a shame. Learning a third language would look good on a resume."

"What's the other language you know?" Sang asks.

"Greek." _Ah,_ Aggele, _the things I could whisper into your ear for hours and hours._ Because everyone knows no one does romance better than Greek boys. And I'm the best of the lot.

Sang's eyes glint with the hint of a tease. "You've not said one word to me in Greek," she fake-whines.

And there's my chance. " _M'aresei o tropos pos gelas,_ " I say, then turn away and wave goodbye at the both of them as I head towards my own class.

 **Victor**

"I hate the trailers," I groan as I move Sang's bag out of the seat in front and sit down.

"Me too," she whispers.

The doc gets up to write his name and greets the class. I just put my head down, staring at the back of Sang. She's the only one who bothered to reply back.

Doc laughs. "I think my class is missing. Did no one show up today? I'll have to mark everyone as absent. I believe I said good afternoon."

I roll my eyes and mutter my greetings along with the rest of our class. Doc's being dramatic and huffy as usual. Nothing new there.

"This won't do. I'm here to teach you Japanese. I can't very well teach you English, too. We'll be taking a lot of time to discuss Japan and the culture and of course, the language. You'll be practicing with your classmates." He makes a loop around behind the back row of desks before returning to the front again. "As such, I think right now is the time to select a partner. I want you to work on a project for me."

Sang and I meet eyes. I already know who my partner's going to be for the rest of the year. Doc says something else after that but I'm not really listening anymore as Sang turns in her seat to face me.

"What do you know about Japan?" she asks.

I shake my head, smiling. "They grow rice."

She reaches for her bag. "Do you want to write it down?"

"You write," I tell her, "your handwriting is nicer."

"How would you know?" _Is she teasing me?_

I don't know for sure, so I just say, "Girls always have nice handwriting."

"I want to see yours." She plops her notebook down on my desk. So I take the pen from her and write, _Japan grows rice,_ and flip it back so she can read it.

"It's not bad."

"But you probably write all swirly and with hearts and stuff." I don't know who's teasing who anymore, but I find myself not caring, either.

"I don't use hearts. Unless you want me to."

My medallion has a heart in its center. I wonder if Sang's noticed. She snatches the notebook away and writes our names at the top of the page, dotting the "i" of my name with a heart.

I smirk. _That won't work, sweet pea._ "He's going to know you did that. He knows my handwriting."

Sang gives a devilish smirk that reminds me frighteningly of Luke when he's planning a prank on North. "Yeah, but no one else will. And we have to pass it up the end of class, right?"

Damn. Didn't think of that. "You wouldn't."

"I already did."

I try to grab the pen but she pulls it out of reach. "What's wrong? I like your name in hearts." Sang giggles quietly. Oh god, this girl is going to be the death of me. I try to smile, but I think I can feel my face heating in embarrassment.

"Stop being so damn cute."

"Victor?"

Sang spins around just as the doc approaches. I sit up straight as well.

"Dr. Green."

"If you're going to flirt with Miss Sang in my class, it must be done in Japanese. I believe you were saying she is cute? In Japanese, you say kawa..."

 _Shut up already!_ "I'm not doing that." I turn away. I know how to say "cute" in Japanese; I didn't need him to tell me, damn it. The other stupid kids start snickering.

"No?" says Doc. "Well, in that case..." He faces Sang and picks up her hand. I hold back a gasp, wondering _what the hell is he doing?!_ " _Kimi ga ite shiawase. Koi ni ochite shimatta._ " He bows his head and kisses the air above her hand.

Too close for comfort.

And then he winks—actually _winks_! "That is how you talk to a lady."

If I had Gabe's colorful vocabulary right now, I sure as hell would be using a few choice words to tell him exactly where he could shove the "talking." Why did he feel the need to do it with Sang? Why _her_? He can have his pick of any girl in the class, he could've said it to anyone and I'm sure all of them would fall at his feet. They always do. He's always such a flirt. So blasé with his own heart and of others'.

Sang didn't need that.

Not her.

I don't know who I'm more furious at, myself for getting so carelessly carried away that I didn't notice him walking to us and overhearing the conversation, or at Doc for saying the things he just said.

The rest of the class period goes by in a whir. I hardly notice anything or anyone else as Sang and I complete the assignment and hand it in. When the bell rings, I pick up our bags and walk down the hallway with Sang to the gym.

"Victor?"

I mutter out some kind of reply.

"Is Dr. Green normally like that?"

And finally I meet her eyes, raising a brow. "You mean kissing girls in the middle of the classroom?"

Her cheeks flame scarlet. "He never did kiss my hand."

 _Oh, but he wishes he had._ "He would have," I say, gazing at the floor. I'm still angry, and I have no idea why. Which only makes me more pissed. "And yes, he's like that."

"Do you know what he said to me? The kimi ga—"

 _Yes I do, damn it, and no I don't want to tell you. So stop asking._

"No." My tone comes out harsh, loud, but I don't care. "I have no idea what he said."

Sang pauses, frowning at me. "Hey. I was just asking."

"Well stop asking me about him. Who the hell cares what he said?" I scoff. Then my phone zaps me. I instantly pull it out, unlocking the screen. It's Nathan. He's in trouble. Perfect timing. "I've got to go." And before she can say anything more I stalk off, still annoyed, not wanting to talk to her or anyone else for the moment.

I have to clear my head. Stupid Doc.


	4. The Sound of Snowfall

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **A/N: Hey all! This is out of order, but in honor of all the snow I got in my hometown due to Winter Storm Stella, I decided to post this. Enjoy! And of course, please, please R &R. Comments are always appreciated :D **

**Kota**

I sense Sang waking beside me. Somehow, I can always tell. I've been up for a while, but since we don't have anything much planned today I figure I'll let the rest of the guys rest. We all deserve it. And badly need it, too, probably.

Sang suddenly turns, and it's an effort to keep my eyes closed. She's quiet, content to simply lie there, breathing next to me. I thread my arms around her shoulders, inviting her in. She immediately snuggles in close, burrowing her face into me and tucking her legs into mine. For a long moment she becomes so still I think she's gone back to sleep. But then I feel her grinning against my chest.

"Guys," she calls.

I think Luke or Nate grumbles something nearby.

"Guys," she calls louder. "Guys, wake up."

"Go back to sleep, Sang. It's too early to get up," North growls.

Sang stills again, then starts wriggling. She's excited about something, but I can't figure out why. In any case, her wriggling is turning me on. Never mind the fact that it's morning and I've woken up next to the most beautiful girl I've ever met and I already have a hard-on. Her moving around's not helping matters.

"Baby, sleep."

I finally reach a hand up, rubbing her back. Might as well give the guys a break. "Sang, let them sleep. It's vacation," I add softly.

"No," she whines. Strange. She's never so adamant unless it's something really important. What could be so critical this early in the morning? "Get up, guys. We have to go outside."

Gabe lets out a loud groan. "Trouble, I love you and everything, but shut the fuck up and go back to sleep."

"Guys. It's snowing."

My hand stills at her back. _What? Snow?_ _Here?_ "Sweetie, you're dreaming." Sang has nightmares, and she'd often whimper, but she never talked in her sleep. This is a first.

"No really. It's snowing."

"You can't even see the window," I say.

"It's snowing. I swear. I can hear it."

 _How does a person "hear" snow?_ Is that even possible? I hear Gabe let out a snort, before he and some others start chuckling. "You're so full of shit, Trouble."

"Meanie?" Sang sing-songs beside me. I smile at her, eyes fully open now. Her silliness never fails to amuse me. It's part of what I love about her.

"Trouble."

"Go look."

I'm sure she's joking, but at least we'll all have a good laugh if he actually falls for this.

"No," says Gabe. "You're tricking me."

"I swear. It's snowing."

"No, it isn't."

Sang turns away from me in a huff to lie on her back. I prop up my head on my hand, and look down at her. "I bet you a dollar," she says.

"I'm not getting up for a dollar," Gabe replies back.

"I'll bet you . . . what do you want?"

"Gabe, don't fall for it. She'll get you to get up and then while you're up, she'll get you to get something for her. Like a cup of water or something. It's an evil girl trick."

I snort. Sounds like something you'd do, too, Luke, I think.

But Sang's getting frustrated now, because none of us are really paying attention to her and no one wants to get up. "Guys," she says. "I swear. I'd bet my soul . . ."

"No betting your soul, Princess."

Sang grumbles. "Gabriel. Go look."

"No."

"Please?"

I snigger inwardly. Poor Gabriel.

"Fuck, no."

"God damn," shouts Nathan. "Someone get up and tell her it's not snowing so she'll go back to sleep."

Sang groans, shoving her hands up against her face, yawning and stretching. Like a little kitten. So cute. I'm still smiling and just lying there watching as she peeks out again over my shoulder. "Gabriel, I'll give you anything you want if I'm wrong. Cross my heart. It's snowing outside right now."

"I swear, Trouble, there is no possible way it is snowing. This is South Carolina. South. It hasn't snowed in like a hundred years."

"And I'm telling you, I can hear it. It's snowing. I'm from Illinois. It snows there. I know what it sounds like." I'm going to have to ask her exactly what that means sometime soon.

"Trouble, you asked for it." I hear Gabe finally getting up and move. "You can't hear snow. It's impossible. I'm going to want a massage. I'm going to want you to wash my hair for a month. I'm gonna get you to paint my nails a thousand times." There's a momentary pause as the noise of the blinds opening fills my room. "I'm going to make you wear skirts for the rest of winter. I'm gonna . . . holy Jesus motherfucking Christ; it's snowing."

 _What!_

"Now _you're_ full of shit," says North.

"How the hell did you do that?" Gabriel walks over to the bed. Now I'm starting to get curious. Is it really snowing, here, in South Carolina? Or is he kidding? I look between the two of them. Sang is full-on grinning. Gabe just looks gobsmacked. I can't tell if he's serious or a really good actor.

"Do what?" says Sang. She sits up and stretches her arms above her head again.

"You must have looked. You must have gotten up and saw it was snowing."

"She hasn't moved," I say, rolling onto my back. "Is it really snowing?"

"Told you guys." Sang crawls out of the bed, weaving in between everyone as she heads to the stairs. Gabriel asks where she's going. I'd like to know, too.

"Gonna go see the snow before it's gone," she says.

"What? Wait," I cry, twisting around and pulling the blankets off trying to reach her. She can't go out in the snow like that, she'll catch a cold! "You can't go out wearing that." I hastily pull on a T-shirt and follow Gabe downstairs. The garage door's all the way open, and Sang stands just inside, looking out into the whiteness.

 _Snow, wow,_ is my first thought. And then the cold hits, and I tuck my arms into my body, gritting my teeth.

Sang grabs Gabe's and marches forward.

"Sang," I warn, "don't walk barefoot in the snow."

"It's not going to snow much longer," she protests, and goes out, Gabe trailing behind her, still holding her hand. She watches her toes, spreading them out and pressing them against the snow in wide-eyed wonder. The look of pure, childish glee on her face is remarkable and gorgeous. "Come on, Gabriel," she says.

After a moment of hesitation Gabe steps out, then clamps his arms around himself. "Shit. It's cold."

Sang laughs and starts making her way across the driveway as we just stand there and watch. She goes all the way to the end, turns, then pauses. I hear North coming up beside me, and Sang approaches. He holds out a pair of my rain boots and a leather coat.

"Baby, don't walk around barefoot in the cold. You'll get sick again."

Sang mumbles something, which I don't hear, before stuffing her feet into the boots as North slips the coat over her shoulders and leaning down to plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Told you it was snowing," she says, grinning.

"I still think you cheated," says North. "You saw it somehow."

She sticks her tongue out at him before marching away to go back toward the garage. In the meantime Gabe puts on his boots and a jacket and I go to find myself another pair. The others all eventually come out. Silas stretches, groaning.

" _Aggele,_ get the snow to come later in the day next time," he says.

Sang rolls her eyes before bending down to pick up a handful of snow. For a second I wonder if she's going to throw it at me, and I ready myself to dodge, but then she aims it at Luke. It hits with a _plop!_ square in his neck, and I have to hold back laughter as he cringes. That's gotta be cold.

When Luke turns to face Sang, comprehension dawns on her face. She's in big trouble. We all know it. She starts running across the yard, Luke right behind her throwing snow.

Silas and I glance at each other, grinning.

Time to play.


	5. Painful Secrets

**DISCLAIMER: I have no claim on Victor. They belong to Sang. And C.L. ~big sigh~**

 **Victor**

 _Damn it!_

I look down and spot Sang lying on her belly on the floor of Kota's bedroom. Her lips part in surprise, eyes widening to an even brighter green. I didn't expect to see her here so casually. It's weird. There's never been a girl around us for so long before, and Sang's becoming an almost constant presence.

I realize she's still staring at me, and remember our conversation from earlier. Oh god, I yelled at her. I can't believe I did that.

When Nathan redlined Sang and I were in the middle of our conversation, and I just got so mad at her for something that wasn't even her fault. She can't help it if she's cute and the Doc decides to flirt with her. He'll flirt with a squirrel if he finds it cute. Not that Sang can compare to a squirrel obviously but . . . _argh, what the hell am I even thinking?!_

"Victor!"

Sang's shout makes me flinch as she leaps up from her place and crosses the room over to where I still stand by the stairs.

"What happened?"

"Training," I say quietly. For some reason, I find it hard to meet her eyes. Apparently I can't seem to lie to her very well. But around my periphery I see her fingers hovering close to my face.

"With what, a bear?" she asks. I know I look awful, but it can't be _that_ bad. I shake my head and turn to Kota, silently apologizing.

"I didn't think she would be here."

 _Damn. That came out harsh._

Kota nods and stands up. "It's not important. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I say, before focusing on Sang again, who's _still_ staring at me with those infuriatingly puzzling eyes. "I'm sorry, Sang." My voice barely comes out.

But she heard. And her eyes widen so much they look about to pop out of her head. " _Sorry?_ For what?"

"I yelled at her earlier before I left. I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean it."

Her jaw drops.

 _Why is she looking at me like that?_

"How could you think that? You get into a fight and the only thing you can think to say is you're sorry about something that doesn't matter?" She's almost yelling herself now, pitch high, voice clawing at my ears. I don't understand. What've I done? I don't understand this girl _at all._

"Fine," I reply hotly, "next time I won't apolo—"

Then suddenly her arms are wrapping around my neck, hugging me, pressing her body close against mine.

"Ooof! Sang, I . . ." Any other time, I would've enjoyed this. But right now everything hurts. And her hug was unexpected, I didn't brace myself.

Screw it. She feels too good for me to let her go. I run my fingers along the length of her ribs and hold my cheek against hers.

"I am sorry," I whisper, so only she can hear.

Sang lets out a sigh, then steps back. Her face is red, and she's looking at me bug-eyed again, this time a bit nervously.

Kota brings out his medical kit and hands it to Sang. "Where's Nathan?"

I glance at her briefly before looking away. "He's still training." _Lie._

"Where?" Sang sits back on her heels. Kota, Gabe and I all follow.

"It's just at the Academy," I say.

She frowns, her eyes shifting. Calculating. She knows I'm not telling her the truth. She asks if Nathan was the one who beat me up, and I have to suppress a laugh at that one.

"No."

Her cool, soft hands cup my chin before she dabs the cotton with the peroxide hard against my cheek. _Ow._

I thrust my head back, yanking her wrist away from my face. "Easy, Sang."

"I barely touched you!"

 _Barely?_ That _was barely touching? Christ._

She does her best to clean up the rest of my face but I can't help squirming and the occasional flinch. For some reason I had the idea she'd be gentle. But nope. Not even close.

"Does this happen a lot?" she says quietly after a while. "To all of you? Do you get called out of school to go do training?" She emphasizes "training" like it's something really terrible. And I guess to her, it must look pretty bad.

Kota finally speaks up. "one of the stipulations for us being there is that Mr. Blackbourne would have full control over our schedules. If we ever needed to be called up for something that was Academy business, we would be allowed to leave class to deal with it."

"Does it always involve fighting?"

"No."

"Am I allowed to ask what kind of business at the Academy makes Victor's face look like he got mauled by a baseball bat?"

 _Punched by a bunch of high school morons, actually._ I exchange looks with my brothers, warning the others not to say anything about what happened. Sang doesn't need to deal with this, she has enough going on in her own life not to be brought into ours.

"It's better if you don't know, Sang. I don' want to keep you in the dark but if you knew . . . ." Kota trails off as we watch Sang putting the kit back in the bathroom.

"Are you worried I'd be scared for you?" I'm freaking out now. How is knowing worse than not knowing?"

My brothers and I look at each other again. _How do you fight that kind of logic? How can we possibly explain?_

"Do your parents know? I mean what if Kota walked in one day and his poor mom saw him with bruises all over his face?"

"She . . ." Gabe starts, but Kota quickly shuts him up with a look. Sang doesn't know Gabe's got makeup for all of us in case of exactly that sort of thing happening.

Sang's shoulders stiffen momentarily before relaxing again. She straightens, sighs, before turning around and coming back into the room with us.

"Are we done with homework yet?"

Her question takes me off-guard, and my brothers too, it seems. I want to tell her. I want to figure out her secrets, everything that's ever happened that made such a haunted look appear in the gorgeous eyes of such a sweet, beautiful girl. And I want to give her something in return. My secrets. All of it.

Kota gives a slight shake of his head. And that's it. I know it's not happening. "It's time for a break," he says.

Something wafts across my nostrils, a smell I didn't notice until now amidst the commotion. I look around in confusion, spotting no food anywhere nearby. "What smells like tacos?"

 **A/N:** **OH. EM. GEE. It has been SO long since I last wrote anything NOT school-related! Gah. Much too long. Rest assured, hopefully I can resume a somewhat more regular writing schedule now that summer's here. I'll try to post at least twice a month, if not more, as we all do the BIG COUNTDOWN till the days of Black and Green. AHHH so excited! Rate and review! Please & thanks :D **


	6. Deeper

**DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to the awesome and mysterious C.L.**

 **Nathan**

"Fuck . . . fuck, ouch, fuck me, fuck." I can't go any farther like this and kneel down on the wood floor of my shed, gritting my teeth from the pain. Every muscle's on fire from the strain of having held myself for so long, and the gashes and bruising across my body hiss and burn as if they're alive.

Gabe said a while back that he was having trouble with some homophobic goons in his art class. Nothing he couldn't handle, of course. But I wanted to goad them, draw them out. See if they were part of all the shit that's apparently been happening inside the school.

On second thought, I don't think Gabe would've made it out of the mess, although he most likely wouldn't have been quite as reckless. By the time Vic showed there were more than a few big guys on me. He managed to pull some off with my help but just barely before we dodged the hell out of there.

Ugh. Not even to the second day and already people are beating each other up.

I'm still crouching on the floor when I think I hear something, but at the moment I'm just too damn sore to care.

"Nathan!"

For a moment I can't place the voice, although it's definitely female. _A girl? Here?_ God I hope it isn't that annoying priss Danielle. I straighten onto my knees and twist around. Squinting through my painfully swollen face, I see the familiar, petite figure of a girl I'm coming to recognize all too well.

"Sang?"

She crosses the room to me before dropping down on her heels, peering closer with a worried frown marring her beautiful features.

"Victor made it sound like you were fine. Why did he lie to me?" She sounds utterly betrayed and baffled, hurt almost. God. Any other time, she would've been a welcome sight. But I never wanted her of all people to see me like this.

I try to get up, but slip on my own two stupid feet and fall back against the cabinet. Fuck it. I'll just sleep here tonight.

"You know you shouldn't trust boys," I say, groaning with the effort not to show how much pain I'm in. Though that's probably a wasted attempt, considering how bad I must look. I try for a grin instead. "We're . . . um . . . something bad that I can't think of right now. Remind me to tell you about it later."

"You're all driving me crazy." Her pitch turns higher by the second. Or maybe that's my ears becoming sore. Great. _Thanks, body. Might as well just hurt everywhere while I'm at it, why not. Literally._

I see Sang's small hands reaching out towards the bottles of creams I was trying to get at before and failed. "Which one did you want?"

I take my earlier thought about her back. Has any other girl ever been such a freaking godsend?

I point to one of the tubes and Sang suddenly snatches up my broken finger.

 _Fuck!_

"Hey!" I shout.

"Is it broken? Why aren't you at the hospital?"

"I saw a doctor," I say defensively. "That's where I got the bandage thing." _Bandage thing. Nice, Griffin. Really scoring points for yourself there, man. I wanna slap myself for my inner monologue._

Maybe later when I actually have working arms.

"Is this all you need?"

I nod.

"Come on," she says, standing and clutching my arm to help me up. The fact that she's too little to take my weight on her own yet seems totally oblivious to it makes her all the more endearing. "Let's get you inside so you can lay down. You look terrible."

I laugh and finally manage to pick myself up. Can't have her doing all the heavy lifting. I limp to the door. "Are you calling me ugly?" I pretend-accuse. She doesn't say anything, simply tucks herself under my arm while helping me forward. It's slow progress, because every so often I have to stop to breathe through the pain.

Sang pauses at the back door, asking where I want to lay down.

"In my bed," I reply. "Once I'm down, I don't think I'm getting back up."

She returns my arm over her shoulder. Man, I really wish I wasn't so beat-up right now. Her body molds into mine perfectly. Makes me want to never let go.

As soon as we reach my bedroom I plop down belly-side on my bed. "Fuck." My legs dangle off the edge. Not the most comfortable position to stay in for like ever, because that's probably what's gonna happen. I don't know when I'm getting back up.

"Scoot up," says Sang, crawling up beside me.

 _So much for never moving again._

I half-sigh, half-groan as I push myself up properly with my arms before mashing my face against the pillow. Oh _man._

Out of my periphery I see Sang sit on her knees beside me. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me what happened," she says. Her cool, soft hands rub the cream gently over my back.

"You don't want to know." I try not to shiver from her touch, wishing I wasn't in so much pain right now. I haven't been with a girl in so damn long—not that I ever wanted to be before I met Sang.

But still.

Argh. Can't even enjoy the moment because of those bastards.

Sang lets out a sigh. "Are you in trouble with the mob? Do you owe them money?"

 _Oh, if only that were it._ "Not at the moment," I joke. Sang doesn't respond, so I don't know if she got it or not. After a while, she pats my arm.

"Let me see the front."

I flip over and watch as she squeezes more cream from the tube onto her palm, before starting to rub it on my chest. Her eyes dart this way and that, and her face turns so red I swear I can feel the heat of her blush even from here. Her hands start moving dangerously lower on my stomach and my abs clench involuntarily. If she goes any lower I've no clue what's gonna happen. Hell, even if she keeps up this rubbing I'll most likely embarrass myself, because there's no way I can get up and escape to the bathroom. Who knew getting cream rubbed on bruises could be such a fucking turn-on.

 _God, stop, please._ I try distracting myself by punching my pillow to fluff it up instead.

"What were you doing out here?" I ask. Yes, conversation. Let's do that. Conversation is good.

"I was going home from Kota's."

"I didn't know you were allowed out yet. Aren't you grounded or something?"

"Weren't you supposed to be in gym class today?"

I smirk. "I had something to do."

"Huh." And she doesn't say anything more. _Huh? Huh?! What the fuck does that even mean?_ Gah. Stupid girls. I never could understand them.

Sang replaces the cap on the tub and moves to get up. I grab for her wrist before she can move too far. "It had to be done," I say, trying to make her understand. "If it wasn't important, I would have been there with you in class. I wouldn't leave you alone." I want to make sure she knows I'll _never_ leave her alone if I have the choice. I don't question why.

Her eyes widen. "I'm not worried about being alone," she whispers. "I've been alone for a long time. I can handle myself. What I'm worried about is the next time you're gone from class and I'm wondering which hospital you may end up in."

 _Wha—_

I open my mouth, searching for words and finding none. How am I supposed to respond to something like that? Nothing I'd come up with would even come close.

She's so precious.

I don't ever want to leave her alone. Ever. For the first time, I realize how utterly grateful I am to have found her stuck in that damn tree. She's freaking adorable—beautiful, really—and anyone with sight and half a mind could see she is. But her heart is something else entirely. And I've just touched upon it. Which makes me want to dig even deeper. Find out everything and anything I can about her. Find more chances to have her tuck her body into mine. She fits with me, with all of us, so naturally.

Obviously I can't tell her any of this. It'd probably all come out in a rambling, jumbling mess. So I do the only thing I can in that moment. I give her arm the gentlest squeeze, silently conveying all that I want her to know. A promise.

Sang's eyes dart to the window and back. "I have to get going. Do you need anything?"

 _You. To stay here with me._

"I took a painkiller before you got here," I say instead, releasing her hand reluctantly. "Don't worry about me. Go home before you get into more trouble." I move in an attempt to get on my stomach again and fail. Ugh. "I might not get to school tomorrow." Just the thought of it makes me cringe.

"That's too bad," quips Sang. She sounds almost sarcastic.

My eyes flash open again. "Why?"

"You'll miss taco soup." I hear her walking towards the doorway.

"Wait! Hey, hold up, what's—"

Too late. I'm left in the sudden darkness as she flicks off the light switch and shuts the door. "—taco soup," I finish glumly to the now-empty room.

I miss her already.

 **A/N: Please rate and review! I read each and every single one. They're truly the motivation that keeps me going. Love ya 3**


	7. Tooth & Nail

**DISCLAIMER: Still have no hold on these three hotties. Can't say I didn't try.**

 **Gabriel**

The coach didn't stay on after gym class to make sure everybody left like he's supposed do. Should've figured the staff at this place would be just as useless. As I'm exiting the locker rooms I hear an all-too familiar voice.

"Hey, faggot. Where are you going in such a hurry?"

I really don't wanna do this right now. I gotta find Sang. Nate isn't here today and she'll be all alone. Then again, she's smart enough to know to find her way back to the buses. Kota's supposed to be there with her. And I need to deal with these guys anyway. They pissed me off one too many times.

Before I've barely turned around one beefy asshole pins me up against the far wall of the hallway. I raise a brow and smirk. "You think you're so tough, don't you?" I prod.

"Shut the fuck up!" He grabs me by the shoulder, pulling me away from the wall only to slam my head back hard. _Ow. Fuck._ Black spots swim across my vision and my head rolls back, but I do nothing.

"Gabriel!"

 _Motherfucking Jesus it can't be._ But I'd know that husky sweet voice anywhere. I turn to see Sang standing across the hallway. Her hands clench tightly on her things, her green eyes wide with fear. _Fucking shit, Sang! No! Go away! Get out of here! I've got this!_ I plead with my eyes, but the stupid girl doesn't listen.

Something determined comes over her face. Her eyes turn flinty; her perfect petal-pink lips that I yearn to draw but can never get right, set in a hard line. Her bag drops to the ground unheeded as she strides forward, looking for all the world like an avenging angel. I think I must've fucking died and gone to heaven from that head slam.

The guys all turn to Sang, although the one holding me doesn't let go. "Hey there," he says. "Where'd you come from, sexy?"

Sang's eyes flicker towards me before returning to him. Her chin jerks. "What are you playing around with him for?"

"What, you mean gay 'tard here?" The asshole pushes into my shoulder again. I grunt, my eyes turning to Sang, trying to convey to her to _get the fuck out of here._

But of course she doesn't listen. "What are you, some kind of homophobe?" she says.

The guy holding me lets go, and I take the chance to redline Kota and Vic while never taking my eyes off Sang. Her fists clench, eyes turning the deepest, most gorgeous shade of green if I ever saw one.

"I just wondered why you were here playing with the boys instead of the girls."

 _What the_ fuck _is she doing?!_ "Sang," I call to her. Loudly. Desperate now. "Don't." Her eyes flicker towards me.

"Shut the fuck up!" Another shove into my gut and I double over, clutching an arm around my stomach.

I continue to taunt them still, trying to redirect attention away from Sang. "Yeah, yeah, you've said that already." The effort causes me to hiss in a breath, but it works. His face twists into a sneer, his shoulders rounding out to ready for another punch.

Then suddenly Sang's tiny hands are cupping his fists. Everyone freezes. My mouth falls open.

"Dude, seriously. Are you going to play with him or me?"

Oh my God.

"Go _home_ , Sang."

No one's listening to me, not even Sang. "She doesn't want to talk to a fag," the guy holding me again says, before turning to her, "you're Sang? I've heard about you."

Sang's eyes go wide.

"Greg said you were kinky shit."

Her eyes widen even more. She steps back, before some motherfucker grabs her by the arm from behind. The crowd of guys shifts around us, releasing me and forming a circle around her.

I clench my fists. "Let her go," I warn.

"What do you guys think? Do we want to see what kinky shit looks like?" And before I can do anything his arm shoots out, wrenching at the collar of Sang's shirt. The sound of buttons clattering against tile fills the hallway, and at that instant I understand what it means to see red.

"Get your fucking hands off of her!" I jump up and land a hard kick onto the back of the motherfucker's knees, punching at the side of his neck. He screeches like a banshee. Just as I'm about to reach for Sang the guy who has her pulls her back, and I'm buried under the rest of them.

 **Kota**

We arrive just as a bunch of guys are piling on Gabe and we go after them, throwing ourselves on top of them. There's a sharp cry. I turn my head. Sang's being jerked back by someone else, and she's tugging and jerking to try and free herself. Our eyes meet for a millisecond, then Victor and I are pulling the guys off of Gabriel. He holds his own, swinging fists, legs, anything he can.

The entire hallway is in absolute chaos.

Victor and Gabriel are now both at my side. _One, two, three._ Academy training kicks in. No unnecessary exertion. Hard and fast strikes. Efficiency and precision. Occasionally dodging when we have to. Most of the people crowding around watching fled earlier and the only ones left are the few pesky ones. I can't let myself even start to think of Sang right now.

 _Focus, Kota!_

Someone heaves himself onto Victor. I glimpse back but am forced to turn around again at the sight of another body in my periphery.

My fist connects with his abdomen.

Then a yell to my left.

"Sang!"

 _Sang? Sang!_

 **Victor**

One second I'm fighting beside Kota, and the next a much heavier weight pulls me back sharply. I don't have time to think or breathe as I see Sang cling to the guy's shirt and yank. I scramble to my feet again but I'm too slow.

His arm swings out, catching her in a backhanded slap across the face that rams her into the wall.

I cry out. I think I said her name.

And then a kick, blindly, not caring where I hit the bastard. He shouldn't have hit Sang. He shouldn't even have _touched_ her, dammit! He comes at me again and I aim a fist to his face. When I see him retreat, I whirl back around.

"Sang!" Her cheek is red, quickly swelling, lip torn and bleeding. Crouching on one knee in front of her, I lift a fingertip to her forehead, brushing away stray hairs. Her eyes look up, wide and green and full of fear. That same haunted look Kota and I saw the first day returning. _No._ At least she doesn't turn away.

I vaguely hear Kota and Gabe curse and shout, barking orders at the few left or something. But all I see is Sang. Our eyes on each other. Taking her in my arms, I press her close.

"Victor," she breathes against my neck. Her small frame feels even smaller in this moment, shivering against my own, her hands a cool touch on my heated skin. I shudder to think what else could've happened. She was lucky. She should never have gotten involved.

Bending down, I clasp an arm firmly behind her knees, the other at her waist and pick her up off the ground before standing with her. Her face buries in my shoulder. She's still trembling. I press my cheek against her forehead.

It's the only comfort I can offer right now.

 **A/N: I must admit I've got a new found appreciation for fight scenes. They're actually quite difficult to write. That being said, I hope ya'll enjoyed my take on the boys' thoughts. This one's the first that took place in the hallway, from First Days. Hope it was a refresher if you're looking forward to Black & Green as much as I am! Please rate and review, thanks! **


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